‘Stop Eating Fruit Bats,’ UN Warns Ebola-Plagued Africans

The likely culprit for the deadly outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been identified, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has put out a warning to those in the affected region: stay away from fruit bats.

Fruit bats are a common meat in African stews or are dried like jerky.

Fruit bats are among the most notorious for spreading disease, according to the FAO. The U.N. organization said West Africa’s current epidemic, which has so far killed at least 604 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, was probably first transferred from an infected animal, and then began spreading between people. Ebola is transferred by direct contact with the blood or body of infected people or animals.

Unlike other Ebola-infected animals, fruit bats show no sign of infection and therefore should be completely avoid.

Did they warn everyone in person? Because I think if you drew a venn diagram of people who eat dried fruit bats off the ground and people who have television/internet access, you’ll find there’s probably not a great deal of overlap there.

Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, 2 American doctors infected with Ebola in Africa, were transferred to the CDC in Atlanta, bringing the plague to U.S. soil. If the virus should escape, here's a map of where you should go.

Sam Princecovers social media trends and breaking news for Heavy. He is a New York City-based actor and singer who tours internationally with a Four Seasons tribute band and has appeared on various television shows and Broadway. Email him at sam@heavy.com and find him on Twitter @thesamprince. Read and subscribe to his blog here.August 3, 2014 11:15 am